Dealing Death and Drugs

The War on Drugs doesn't work. This statement becomes obvious if you live on the U.S./Mexico Border. Especially if your home is in El Paso, Texas, and you have witnessed Ciudad Juárez-El Paso's sister city-become one of the deadliest cities in the world.

This is why El Paso City Representative Susie Byrd and former City Rep Beto O'Rourke started to ask questions about the United States' 40-year old War on Drugs. Byrd and O'Rourke soon realized American drug use and the United States' failed War on Drugs are at the core of the problem. In Dealing Death and Drugs, they explore the costs and consequences of marijuana prohibition. They argue that marijuana prohibition has created a black market so profitable that drug kingpins are billionaires and drug control doesn't stand a chance. Using Juárez as their focus, they describe the business model of drug trafficking and explain how it has contributed to the tragedy taking place in Juárez today.

Their position: the only rational alternative to the War on Drugs is to end the current prohibition on marijuana.

Beto O'Rourke announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination for El Paso's seat in the U.S. Congress. He recently completed his second term on the El Paso City Council. He continues to run Stanton Street Technology Group, a web-development company he co-founded.

Susie Byrd is serving her second term on the El Paso City Council. Before running for City Council, she served as a top aide to Mayor Ray Caballero. She co-edited The Late Great Mexican Border: Reports from a Disappearing Line (Cinco Puntos Press, 1996).

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Dealing Death and Drugs will be donated to Centro Santa Catalina, a faith-based community in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, founded in 1996 by Dominican Sisters for the spiritual, educational and economic empowerment of economically poor women and for the welfare of their families.